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Couple weeks ago the gf and I attempted to install her wall mount for her Panny plasma. We bought one of those $10 stud finders from Home Depot and went to work locating the studs.

The general area where the TV will go on the wall is approx 3-4 ft from a corner to the right if facing the wall. So obv there will be a stud at the corner, which we confirmed with the finder. The next stud we found was 20" to the left of the corner, adding in the width of the 2x4s we figure her building for some reason has studs 24" apart. Moving to the next stud (which would be the left mounting point of the wall mount), we found another 20" away...but when we went to confirm the stud didn't exist 12" below? It was as if the wall had half a stud, is this possible?

While we tried to figure this out we called the building engineer who told us the studs were standard 16" apart (!!???). When we showed him the findings of the stud finder, he pretty much ended the convo with they are 16" apart trust me.

You should be able to tap and hear the difference. If not, buy the most expensive stud finder you can at lowes or home depot. If you find you have no need for it, you can return it. hint hint.

If you know the TV is going to be mounted covering a certain area, take a small screw driver and poke a hole where you think there is a stud. Worse case, you have a few tiny holes or patches behind the tv you cant see.

If you have never done this before, I would go ahead and cut the dry wall off the stud so that you can see the stud itself. This little 1"x1" hole will guarantee you that you hit the center of each stud properly.

So if I was to hire a pro to do it (remove liability from myself lol)...where should I go and how much should I expect to pay? Best Buy Geek Squad (only for reference unles they are pretty good?) charges ~$200?

So if I was to hire a pro to do it (remove liability from myself lol)...where should I go and how much should I expect to pay? Best Buy Geek Squad (only for reference unles they are pretty good?) charges ~$200?

Best Buy Installation Sucks (from what I have seen)

A good company will charge you between $50-$100 per labor hour. We charge $100 trip charge plus $100 per labor hour for installation or $75 per labor hour if we are selling you the system. I have no idea what you job needs. An average job of hanging a TV on a normal wall and running the wire (CL2/CL3) through the wall would be between 3 and 6 labor hours depending on the situation and gear involved. So $300-$600 plus wire. NOT including power. Average electrician would charge between $100-$300 to add an outlet depending on where it was being tapped from.

So $400-$900 for a normal install with normal equipment plus wire costs.

My Liability insurance alone is $3000 per year. There is a reason.

Below is my house. I could have slapped this TV up in 2 hours, it took 2 days. Why? Because its a $7K 63" Plasma next to $4K speakers. It is the main wall of my living room. I have studs, I have two center channels, the TV weighs 200lbs. It took for ever just to measure it all out right so the speakers could fit between the studs and still have proper equal spacing, etc.

I have two HDMIs, two componets, four RG6s, etc. All had to be run properly 50 ft. Power is run through the house so it shares the same ground as my equipment rack, etc, etc, etc.

Hmm that's more than expected, her apt is a studio, with a big dresser "under" the TV....where the TV is sitting on right now. There is an outlet right beneath where the TV would go, and no wiring needed since we're using a HDMI switcher with a single wire going to the TV. So in summary, just need the actual mount installed. Do you think it will still be +$400?

Hmm that's more than expected, her apt is a studio, with a big dresser "under" the TV....where the TV is sitting on right now. There is an outlet right beneath where the TV would go, and no wiring needed since we're using a HDMI switcher with a single wire going to the TV. So in summary, just need the actual mount installed. Do you think it will still be +$400?

You could probably find a qualified tech for $200 cash if is under 50" (1 man). No one worth a darn is going to drive to you to make less. Gas, Insurance, Traffic, Time, Tools, Liability, etc.

Wow nice system in your house, thanks for the info. No record player though? Went to Chicago few weeks ago to pick up a Brinkman LaGrange turn table for my parents, OT but any opinions on it since AV is your profession?

Wow nice system in your house, thanks for the info. No record player though? Went to Chicago few weeks ago to pick up a Brinkman LaGrange turn table for my parents, OT but any opinions on it since AV is your profession?

Honestly, turntables are a whole other area that I do not even attempt to get into. When I see a turn table, it is either $50, or $5000. Turntable people are their own cult.